Bird Flu outbreak in Annamayya Dist

1. Disease was officially identified on February 8 based on reports from NIHSAD, Bhopal
2. 24,000 chickens have perished in three villages of Sodam mandal

Bird flu has resurfaced in Andhra Pradesh, causing serious concern in Annamayya district after thousands of poultry birds died under mysterious circumstances. Official sources confirmed that more than 24,000 chickens have perished in three villages of Sodam mandal, prompting the district administration to launch emergency containment measures.

The outbreak was reported from poultry farms in Puttavandlapalle, Kambhamvaripalle and Ammagaripalle villages, where large-scale bird deaths have been occurring over the past few days. Suspecting a viral infection, Animal Husbandry Department officials immediately collected samples from the dead birds and sent them to the High Security Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NIHSAD) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, for testing.

Laboratory results confirmed the presence of the Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) virus in samples collected from Ammagaripalle and Puttavandlapalle. The report from Kambhamvaripalle is still awaited, said District Joint Director of Animal Husbandry Guna Sekhar Pillai.

Following confirmation of the virus, District Collector Nishant Kumar conducted an urgent review meeting with officials and directed them to implement strict preventive measures to curb further spread. Special awareness campaigns are being conducted in coordination with the Revenue, Police, Health and Panchayat Raj departments. The Collector assured affected poultry farmers that the government would provide appropriate compensation for their losses. A special control room has been set up at the district headquarters to monitor the situation round-the-clock.

Officials appealed to the public to immediately report any unusual deaths of birds or poultry to the control room. Helpline numbers 70139 14401 and 93982 62752 have been issued for this purpose. Medical experts have urged the public not to panic over the outbreak. They clarified that the chances of bird flu spreading from chickens to humans are extremely rare. However, as a precautionary measure, they advised people to avoid consuming chicken and eggs from affected areas for at least 10 days.

State Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Kinjarapu Achchennaidu stated that the government is handling the situation with utmost seriousness and vigilance.